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Despite its disappointment with the Israeli decision, Washington is not inclined to try to press any peace proposals of its own. Indeed, while Washington has some ideas ready, no "U.S. plan" exists at present. Instead, the Carter Administration maneuvered to keep peace prospects alive by getting Sadat to formulate his own West Bank proposal, either alone or with King Hussein. This would counter Jerusalem's complaint that nobody else has come up with a concrete proposal for the West Bank, and it would get the two sides talking again. Later on it could pave the way for the U.S. to propose a compromise formula without appearing to be trying to impose a solution. Last week the effort appeared to be working: U.S. Ambassador to Cairo Hermann Eilts was invited to Sadat's vacation villa at Alexandria to hear the outlines of a proposal to return the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza to Egypt.
Washington observers feel that the next few weeks may prove crucial in determining whether the Sadat initiative can be rescued and Sadat can survive politically. For the second year in a row, an international financial consortium made up of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and several European countries has agreed to a multibillion-dollar aid package covering Egypt's foreign-currency needs. Though that will allow Sadat to import enough wheat to keep his people fed, they still hunger for the peace-borne prosperity he has led them to expect. Says one White House official: "If we can't get the negotiations process restarted now, Sadat may have to take a walk. If that happens, it may take another ten or 15 years before we get another important Arab leader who is willing to go as far as he has." That is a fact that Israelis, as well as their supporters in the U.S.. should ponder.